For more than 2,000 years, followers of Christ have answered the call to go into all the world preaching the gospel and making disciples. In the modern age, the Good News has traveled to the ends of the earth with believers sharing their faith in places once thought unreachable. Yet, one area that has remained largely resistant to the gospel is the very land where it all started: Israel. In the same place where Jesus lived and ministered, 99 percent of Israelis today do not know Jesus as their Messiah.
It’s a staggering statistic, one underscored by the irony that Israel is a coveted destination for Christians who desire to experience Israel in person. Travelers make pilgrimages to see the places where Jesus walked, taught, and performed miracles, while the people of modern-day Israel have largely forgotten this same savior. Israeli brothers and sisters who have found a relationship with Jesus are distressed by this reality.
But God is moving in Israel. A grassroots ministry by Israeli followers of Jesus has addressed the great need for discipleship of local believers and is experiencing unprecedented growth. Located minutes from the Mediterranean Sea and a short drive from Jerusalem, One For Israel Bible College and Seminary was established as a homegrown training ground for ministry and leadership for Messianic Jews.
“Until the college was there, the only way we could educate our young generation [was] to send them to America,” says Yossi Ovadia, a Jewish pastor. “So we must study English in order to study the Bible? It’s the wrong way!”
Over the last few decades, the college has expanded to become One For Israel, a multi-faceted ministry that has multiplied through the work of their Bible college students. As the only accredited evangelical Hebrew-speaking seminary in the world, they are bringing the gospel to the people of Israel in their own language and cultural context. And the results are notable.
While a seminary classroom may seem an unlikely setting to address the historically fraught relationship between Israel and Palestine, that is exactly the phenomenon that One For Israel has observed. Over time, the enrollment of Arab believers has risen steadily. Today, one-third of the student population is composed of Arab-Israelis and Palestinian believers, an impressive statistic for a school located north of Tel Aviv. Additionally, they saw an equal number of Jewish and Arab pastors enroll when they opened a masters program for senior leadership and pastors.
“God is for all of us,” says Shamss Asfour, an Arab student from Nazareth, adding, “It made me realize how great God is and how faithful he is, and it’s not important what background we come from.”
This brokering of peace among people who have been political and cultural enemies is not a coincidence; it is the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s pronouncement about the Messiah Jesus: that he would “do more than restore the people of Israel” (49:6 NLT). This reconciliation of peoples is both a miracle—the manifestation of what can happen when believers find unity in Jesus—and a gift that is spawning further ministry outside of the seminary.
Leaders at One For Israel believe that the most effective way to bring the gospel to the people of Israel is to work from within a culture. With the college as a training ground, all of One For Israel’s vibrant ministries launch with a firm foundation in the Word of God and apologetics. Students hone their skills in writing sermons, using technology, and addressing the intersection of faith and culture. Some of their creative initiatives include discipleship courses for Messianic soldiers, courses for women in ministry, online discipleship for new believers, and ministering to at risk mothers and Holocaust survivors. One For Israel Bible College and Seminary is graduating leaders who are equipped to take the Good News of Jesus to their local congregations as spiritual leaders but also into the marketplace and to the ends of the earth.
For American believers, what is our role to play? First, One For Israel is looking for prayer partners who will lift up new believers who are learning and growing in their faith. In the midst of this spiritual awakening, we cannot underestimate the power of prayer in supporting the work ahead. Additionally, financially partnering with One For Israel will sustain the abundant, active ministry that is occurring on campus and online. Your gift could contribute to creating peace in the Middle East as One For Israel continues to support local believers.
What God is doing through One For Israel is exciting and inspiring. God’s faithfulness is evident in the work that was planted in the Bible college over 30 years ago as it continues to bear good fruit. Israel’s spiritual leaders no longer have to leave for foreign lands to study the Bible and train for ministry because One For Israel Bible College and Seminary has established a way for them to learn within their cultural context. Supporting the unifying work to train and equip the body of Christ in Israel is one way to live out Jesus’ love in our daily lives. God is inviting everyone to be a part of this modern-day, miraculous revival.
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